The Things of Earth
March 14, 2010
Related topics: Worship, Devotionals and Art |
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The hymn "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus" assures us that as we look closer into the wonderful face of Jesus, the things of this earth "will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace." However, as Philip Yancey notes in his editorial "A Whole Good World Outside," the hymn gets one things wrong: faith in Christ should illuminate, not diminish, the beautiful world around us.
Yancey discusses how this world outside the church played a crucial role in bringing him back to faith in God:
"I emerged from childhood with a distorted image of God: a frowning Supercop looking to squash anyone who might be having a good time. I have since come to know God as a whimsical artist who fills the world with creatures like the porcupine and skunk and warthog, who lavishes the world with wildflowers and tropical fish more beautiful than any design on display in an art museum." – Philip Yancey, "A Whole Good World Outside"
The church provides an important community for believers. However, Yancey reminds us that we can also seek inspiration outside the church's walls, in the natural world that surrounds us – whether it be in the magnificent symmetry of a DNA molecule, or the majesty of the flowers in the field and the birds of the air.
Philip Yancey's full editorial can be found on Christianity Today's Web site.
Image courtesy of BaylorBear78 / Flickr
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March 16th 2010
But it’s not just purely theoretical. One hundred years ago, we did not exist. But humankind existed. Humankind can clearly exist without you and me. In fact, humankind has been around longer without you and me than with you and me. What’s more, a class of individual, sentient persons could exist that were not humankind.
But, as a Christian, it’s not enough for me to say that God intended humankind to exist. Or that some “individual, sentient persons” exist. We were chosen. I believe he intended for us to exist.
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